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You might think that as popular and D.G. Kaye (Debby Gies) is in our community that there was little more to find out about her… I beg to differ as you will find out.

First the official biography….

I’m a Canadian author, and I write my books under the pen name of D.G. Kaye. Welcome to my page and thanks for taking the time to visit!

You have landed here on my author website, which is also the place I love to blog about random occurrences and events about life. I also like to post articles about writing that I find informative and helpful for other writers, as well as share reviews on books I’ve read. Sharing is caring!

I’m a nonfiction memoir writer who writes about life, matters of the heart and women’s issues. My intent is to inspire others by sharing my stories about events I encountered, and the lessons that come along with them.

I love to laugh, and self-medicate with a daily dose of humor. When I’m not writing intimate memoirs, you’ll find me writing with humor in some of my other works and blog posts.

When I was a young child, I was very observant about my surroundings. Growing up in a tumultuous family life; otherwise known as a broken home, kept me on guard about the on-and-off-going status of my parents’ relationship. I often wrote notes, and journaled about the dysfunction that I grew up in. By age seven I was certain I was going to grow up to be a reporter.

Well life has a funny way of taking detours. Instead, I moved away from home at eighteen with a few meager belongings and a curiosity for life. I finished university and changed careers a few times always striving to work my way up to managerial positions. My drive to succeed at anything I put my mind to led me to having a very colorful and eventful life.

Ever the optimist, that is me. I’ve conquered quite a few battles in life; health and otherwise, and my refusal to accept the word ‘No’, or to use the words ‘I can’t’, keeps me on a positive path in life.

I love to tell stories that have lessons in them, and hope to empower others by sharing my own experiences.

Now time to find out which of the five questions Debby has selected to respond to….

Thanks for having me over Sal. I chose these 5 questions because often my personal habits and preferences spill into my writing. As many of my readers know, lots of my life is in my books as I share my stories to enlighten others. My stories of defeat, triumph and overcoming also include some of my shopping peeves, travel stories and overcoming a low self-esteem, and of course, the love for my father, so I’ve chosen the following questions to answer.

How would you describe your fashion sense?

My fashion sense began as a small child when I was fascinated by the way my mother dressed – stylish and trendy. I didn’t need to be too old to know that was how I wanted to dress when I got older. But being self-conscious about how I looked since childhood cautioned me as I grew into a teen that not everything that suited others necessarily suited me or my body type. I learned young how to wear things that accentuated my better parts instead of dwelling on the parts I wasn’t happy with.

Eventually, I developed a style of my own that suited me best, yet, was often original and not what everybody else was wearing. I’d have to say that my style is somewhere between eclectic, bohemian, and became bolder as I grew older and into myself. I’m pretty sure I was born with a knack for fashion and tried lots of things until I grew into myself. I’m a big fan of bold prints and colors and I love everything leopard LOL.

I often get complimented for clothes I wear by complete strangers while out and about, often adding that they wouldn’t have the guts to dress like me, but I seem to be able to pull it off because it suits me and my personality. I think many are afraid to step out of their comfort zones when trying out trendier styles and that has a lot to do with self-esteem. I know from myself when I was a teen, I liked more subdued clothing because I was happier blending into a crowd. But after I came out of my shell I became somewhat of a fashionista.

Sally here: I think we would all agree with that….

What are 5 things you’ll always find in your handbag?

I’m sorry but I must break the rules here because it doesn’t matter how small or big my purse is, the bare minimum that goes everywhere with me are: Wallet, Phone, Lipstick, Hand Sanitizer, Gum, and a tiny pill container containing a few Advil for unexpected headaches, and Zantac for unexpected indigestion. Those items are my essentials. Of course, there are various other items I carry with me, but enough said for now.

What is the strangest dream you ever had?

The strangest dream I ever had, I don’t believe was a dream. I dreamed I visited my father in heaven a few months after he passed away. I had a very special bond with my father all my life and when he died suddenly of a massive heart attack while on vacation, it took me a long time to get over losing him. I had an inner knowing with my father and inner alarm bells would go off within when I felt something was wrong him. I was very unsettled after his death until I had the dream, or perhaps I should say, the out of body experience, when I visited him in heaven and felt I was given the chance to have a proper goodbye with him. I found myself following a great white light and he approached me in the white shroud he was buried in, but his face was clear.

I wasn’t able to ‘cross the line’ that separated us, but he smiled at me and told me he loved me and that he was at peace and would always be watching over me. It was so real I hesitate to call it a dream. When I woke up, I felt as though I’d landed with a thud back into my body in my bed. From that day on, despite still grieving for the loss of my father, a new sense of peace had come over me, gradually turning into acceptance of my loss and I learned to carry the love in my heart instead of enduring a broken one.

If you could get rid of one household chore, what would it be?

Vacuuming! I will be blunt here – I hate vacuuming! It’s hard on the back, never fits in the crevices I need it to, it’s loud, and I don’t like loud. I could probably use a new one, but I keep procrastinating about buying a new one because I hate to spend money on something I hate doing. I’m on the fence about what kind of vacuum I’d buy next and seriously contemplating getting one of the robotic ones that go around the floors by themselves. I’m opened to hearing about anyone who loves their vacuum? Lol.

Sally here:I think many of us share the same view on this household chore, but I do think that a bit of music does make a difference……

What is your favorite holiday destination and why?

These days it’s Mexico! My desires change with the winds though, I’ll find somewhere I love and keep going back to that same place until I get an itch to go somewhere new. And that’s the cycle of travel with me. I love Mexico with the beautiful hot sunny days, breezy nights, great food and margaritas, and especially the fact that it’s the best bang for my Canadian bucks – our crappy dollar does very well there. I recently returned from a fabulous 2 months in Puerto Vallarta and have booked it again for next winter.

Perhaps after my next visit I may get the bug to travel somewhere else, but even if I do, I know I’d still go back there in between other holidays.

And you can discover more about Puerto Vallarta in Debby’sTravel Columnthis month Part One with Part Two coming in April.

Quotes: “Live Laugh Love . . . And Don’t Forget to Breathe!”

“For every kindness, there should be kindness in return. Wouldn’t that just make the world right?”

Another wonderful read from author D.G. Kaye. I admire Kaye’s courage in sharing her story of a strained, abusive and then estranged relationship with her mother. How she overcame her guilt for letting go and saving herself from further damage from her own mother was rewarding to read.

As well, the very thought of ‘leaving a parent’ goes against all that we learn and what societal norms tell us is right. Therefore, we must be horrible people to cut off a parent, right? Wrong. Sometimes there is no other option if you want to live a fulfilled and happy life. Especially when said parent is a text book narcissist. Kudos to Kaye for making the break and following through with tough decisions regarding her toxic mother.

About Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life.

My name is Sally Cronin and I am doing what I love.. Writing. Books, short stories, Haiku and blog posts. My previous jobs are only relevant in as much as they have gifted me with a wonderful filing cabinet of memories and experiences which are very useful when putting pen to paper. I move between non-fiction health books and posts and fairy stories, romance and humour. I love variety which is why I called my blog Smorgasbord Invitation and you will find a wide range of subjects. You can find the whole story here.
Find out more at https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/about-me/

Reblogged this on Ann Writes Inspiration and commented:
It was so nice to meet D.G. Kaye. As for the robo vac, my parents have a Ufi brand vack, and I plan to get one once my folks put the finishing touches on my tiny house. I hate vacuuming too! The robo vacs can go under furnature, where regular vacuum cleaners don’t. Thanks for sharing your story.

Lovely interview with Debby, Sally. Like both of you, I’m not keen on vacuuming either. Mrs Doubtfire does look rather happy jigging along as she pushes the cleaner around. BUT she does it for only 15 seconds and in one spot! No moving chairs or under sofas or anything like that. LOL. 🙂

From your posts, Debby, Mexico does sound wonderful. Two months of holiday in a sunny place has to be good though. Lots of interesting information about you and your life here making it a fun and interesting read.

Thanks so much Robbie. The sun is uplifting in so many ways. I’m not sure how cold your winters get there, but ours are bone-chilling the older we get that weather burrows itself in our bones whether inside or out. 🙂

Sal, thanks so much for having me over today to share some of my tidbits of life. I love the images you found to lead the questions – the eye in the purse was brilliant LOL, and the Mrs. Doubtfire was priceless! ❤ ❤

Debby, if I did the vacuum cleaning for you, would you do the dusting for me? I love vacuuming. In fact, it’s one of the first things I do when I get up (much to the annoyance of any guests staying, so be warned).

That experience you had of visiting your father in heaven is a fascinating read. I believe that we all have somebody who watches over us. I’ve never witnessed anything physical to prove this, but I do think I’ve been guided in making many decisions I’ve had to make; all of which went on to be correct. I often look back and try and figure out how I came to make individual decisions when I know there would have been no way I could have made them myself.

I can’t imagine you ever not looking smart, not even when vacuuming. 😀

You’re a darling Hugh. But seriously, you wouldn’t say that if you saw me in my vacuuming attire LOL. Sometimes it’s just underwear cuz I break a sweat fighting my crappy vacuum, lol. I’d hire you in a heartbeat! You come and vacuum for me and I’d be happy to dust for you! ❤ xxx

So good to learn more about you, Debby. You are such a fascinating person. The heavenly encounter with your father was quite moving and I’m sure he’s keeping a watchful eye and protective arms around you. You are blessed. Thanks for sharing this with us Sally. All the best to both of you.

Sally, thanks so much for sharing this lovely interview with Debby. It’s always so much fun to learn more about our blogging buddies. Debby, you should try one of the robotic vacs. My son and daughter-in-law have a Roomba and they LOVE it! My daughter-in-law starts it in the morning before she takes my grandson to school. By the time she’s run a few errands and returns home, the whole 1st floor is done. Love and hugs, Sally and Debby 💕🤗💕

Hi Michelle! Okay, you’ve sealed the deal for me! Many here have suggested the Roomba. I wasn’t sure I could trust it to get in all the places I’m used to fighting with my vacuum, but I’m feeling sold now! ❤ xx

We have much in common Debs as I sit typing in my leopard skin sundress. I haven’t vacuumed in 7 years and don’t miss it at all…All tiled and a witches broom is all I need and the amount of fluff etc makes me wonder how clean were my carpets when I had them. I hated vacuuming.
Great interview, Sally and Debs 🙂 xxx
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Thanks Carol.. I miss my marble floors with an occasional rug back in Spain.. so much easier to keep clean and I am sure most of the asthma and respiratory problems people have are because of carpets… xxx

Why am I not surprised – Leopard woman! LOLLLLLLLLLL. No vacuuming for 7 years, now I’m jealous. But I do hear you about carpets. Although I have no carpetinging nailed to my floors I have many throw rugs over my hardwood and tiled floors that require vacuuming, so brooming the floors isn’t enough. I’m thinking the robot Roomba may work perfectly! ❤ xx

Reblogged this on Retired? No one told me! and commented:
Leopard skin, holidays, writing and the hate of the vacuum…It could be me…But it is my friend Debs…Enjoy her interview and discover what more the lady has to share 🙂

Great to learn a bit more about Debby. I tend to dress in the bohemian style too, but unlike Debby I don’t mind vacuuming. The one household chore I hate is ironing. I sometimes envy my son and daughter-in-law – they don’t even possess an iron!

Lol Stevie, if there’s one thing I detest more than vacuuming is ironing. I used to be a fanatic about ironing for the first 10 years of my marriage. That got phased out, lol. Anything I can’t de-crinkle with my laundry protocol, goes to the dry cleaners, lol 🙂 x

This was in my inbox today… but i think I am late! I so enjoyed hearing Debby’s answers and the Mrs. Doubtfire video was hilarious! Thanks for sharing your style with us. I too am very eclecitic and bohemian, but not too many prints in my closet except for a couple of those festival dresses!! cough cough…. still behaving like a teenager sometimes! 😉 Love you gals!

Hi Luna! Never too late to visit a blog and lovely to see you pop by. Why am I not surprised your style is eclectic and bohemian? Although I do love prints – especially leopard, lol. Not difficult to find me in a crowd LOL 🙂 ❤ Hugs xxx

Thanks Luna and no you are not late… and glad you enjoyed as much as the rest of us.. I tend to be quite conservative around here… very easy to stick out like a sore thumb… but when I do get dressed up….slightly more eclectic.. hugsxx

So very interesting! Dreams of the departed–that may not be dreams. I do have some whoppers–never about the deceased, but ones that make me wonder did I eat something that produced it or what? I’m not crazy about vacuuming either, but it’s my chore and not my wife’s. We have all concrete floors and just a few strategically placed rugs (small ones at bedside, under her PC and sewing desks, etc.) So a bare floor vac works well and picks up the dog hair too. It also has a brush setting for the rugs and a hose for other places with a crevice tool, etc. It’s a bagless model from Eureka. BTW: probably no such thing as a quiet vacuum. Consumer Reports (unhelpfully) says only that canister types are generally quieter than uprights but doesn’t rate for that.

Thanks John… I miss our wood and tiles floors back in Spain with just a few rugs.. here it is mainly carpeted but we did tile the hall and lower corridors.. so much easier to sweep. My husband does the vacuuming too, I don’t like the cylinders but prefer upright. But the EU has sucked the power right out of them… xxx

It was so great to learn more about Debby. I do love her fashion sense. I also had a visit from my dad after he passed away. It was so real, I can’t call it a dream either. In it, he was happy and wanted me to be happy too. I think our dads want us to know they will always be looking out for us. As for vacuuming, I put my back out once and the doctor said I shouldn’t vacuum. So hubby took over that job. Funny how my back never really got better. (wink wink)

H Darlene. Thanks so much for chiming in. I’m so glad you too had a dream that really didn’t feel like a dream. You know what I mean. We are blessed. And the vacuum and my back, don’t get me started. Seems a lot of gals here are lucky enough to have their hubs help out with that task. Unfortunately, my husband can’t help me with that so I’m really thinking about the robo vacuum. 🙂 xx

I’d go with a robo vacuum (or a cleaning lady). No carpets here in Spain (only throw rugs) so I just sweep and mop the marble floors. Good thing as hubby’s back has gone now! As for our sort of dreams, we have been blessed. xo

Lol, it’s always fun finding out new things about our online friends, and Debby and I have so many things in common, I laugh when I find another one – this time it’s leopard print: I have tons of clothes in leopard print. What a surprise – not!

Another interview with Debby I really enjoyed, Sally! Great questions and great answers. I always love to learn a bit more about my blogging friends especially when it’s personal stuff!

I’m glad to report that I never vacuum. Our camper is small enough to sweep out and during our last few house sits, we’ve been fortunate to have a house cleaner. The few times we do need to vacuum, Mark will pick up that job. 🙂

We’ve pet sat in many houses with an iRobot. It looks practical, but it gets stuck a lot, is expensive, and I’m not sure it picks up all the dirt or gets everywhere. Personally, I’d look for another solution, like a house cleaner.

I love reading and learning about Debby. She is a fascinating and delightful lady! I love my Samsung Robotic vacuum. We use it in our finished basement that now has flooring. It works beautifully on carpet, tile or hardwood. If you have a deep pile carpet it may have problems navigating around though. Check it out. It’s supposed to be better than the Rhumba Vac.
It’s always a pleasure to see Debby here. Thank you, Sally, for featuring her again. 🤗 😘 to you both ❤️

Thanks for the recommendation Janice..we have mixed tiles and wood floors and only carpet upstairs.. I wouldn’t get any work done I would be too fascinated watching it at work.. Having seen the videos with cats riding them I would need one of those too!! ♥

Debby, I loved what you said about visiting your father in heaven. I really believe that he is one of your angels. After my mother died, I awoke suddenly and I saw her standing over my bed (also in a white shroud).
Oh, and about vacuuming…it is a pain isn’t it? Lugging that heavy piece of machinery around and emptying it. My daughter has one of those robot vacuum cleaners and her dog runs and hides from it. Did you get one already?
Sally, I know I’m late responding to this post but as I recently told you: you are hard to keep up with. Oh by the way, I was reading Cynthia Reyes post about you April 5, 2018 (https://cynthiasreyes.com/tag/author-sally-cronin/) and she said this about you: “Sally Cronin makes me want to stand up and salute”. I agree! ❤

Thank you Carol.. glad you found Debby’s interview. I got a new cordless vacuum for Christmas after dragging around one of those cylinder vacuums.. bliss… I still don’t use it very much but it looks great hanging there on the wall….. and thanks for commenting on Cynthia’s comment.. hugs ♥